Rotary well-drilling machinery



Nov. 23 1926.

1.1", HAYWARD ROTARY WELL DRILLING MACHINERY Filed May 18. 1923 2Sheets-Sheet 1 grweu l'oz 75in gamma); Hayward 0v 3 1926 J T. HAYWARD1,608,169

ROTARY WELL DRILLING MACHINERY Filed May 18. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2IllIlllll'lllllllllllllflll'l (foil- 1 Tkomson Ha Patented Nov. 23,1926.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROTARY WELL-DRILLING- MACHINERY,

Application filedMay 1s,

The present invention has reference to improvements in rotary welldrilling machinery and more particularly to apparatus "for automaticallyfeeding down the bit and sult, whil if he is careful the rate of advanceis liable to be below the maximum possible with the drill stem used.

The present invention, as described below, I

concerns apparatus which regulates the feed so that a constant andpredetermined couple is maintained in the drill stem and whlch indicatesthis couple for the drillers information. The operation of the apparatus-is based upon the fact that in a steam driven rotary rig the couple inthe drill stem is directly proportional to the mean efiective pressurein the engine cylinder. This M. E.

is of course, when the rig is running normally with the throttle partlyopen, somewhat less than the boiler pressure due to the wire-drawing orthrottling efiect of the throttle valve.

The accompanying drawing Figure 1 shows a diagrammatic plan view of onemethod of carrying out the, invention, and Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic planshowing the line shaft and drum connected to the well known rotarytable. v

Referring now to the drawing 1 is the usual drum, 2 the line shaft and 3the engine.

An additional sprocket wheel 4 is mounted upon the drum shaft 5, towhich it may be coupled or uncoupled as required by means of clutchmember 6. This sprocket wheel is' driven by means of a chain 7 by thesprocket wheel 8 mounted upon the reduction gear 9 which in its turn isdriven from the line shaft 2. This reduction gear is so desi ed that thesprocket wheel 8 revolves more ow- 1y than the belt pulleys 10 of thereduction gear, the gear in its turn being driven as follows :-A beltpulley 11 is mounted on the line shaft and carries two belts '12 and 13,the belt 12 bein shown as crossed which pass over a set 0 fixed andloose pulle s 10 mounted on the high speed shaft 21 o the 1923. SerialNo. 639,928.

reduction gear. With the line shaft revolving in one direction bysuitably moving the belts, the gear can be driven in either direction orleft free with the belts on the loose pulleys. The belts are moved byshifting rod 14 operated by means of piston 15 operating in a cylinder16. This piston is caused to move to the right depending upon the steampressure supplied throu 7 11 the pipe 17 and to the left by any suitab emeans such as a weight 18. Th pipe 17 is connected to the main engine insuch a way that it is filled with steam at a pressure equal orproportional to the M. E. P. in the main engine cylinder. For thispurpose it should of course be connected to both ends of the main enginecylinder or cylinders, but in practice, as drilling engines areusuallyrun in full gear, that is, with constant outwit, it is found that thepipe 17 may be connected to the steam chest or to any part of the steampassage between the engine and the throttle.

A valve, not shown, ma be placed in this pipe and .partially close so asto damp out the cyclic pressure variations from the main engine andmaintain a gil'essure on the piston 15 proportional to the E. P. Thisressure may be indicated to the driller y a Bourdon gauge 19 mounted ina convenient position. The .dial 20 of this gauge could be marked in asuitable manner, for instance, in pounds-feet or kilogrammesemetres andcould further have markings representing a. safe couple for differentqualities and'dimensions of drill stem.

Fig. 2 shows theconnections between the line shaft and drum to the wellknown rotary table in which the frame 28 supports the rotary table 22which is provided with teeth 24 on the under 'side as indicated by thedotted lines. B rotation of the drum 1 the drill stem 26 can be raisedor lowered as the case may be by means of the cable or rope 23 securedto the drill at 27. Motion is imparted to the table by means of a chain29 which receives its motion from the line shaft 2 by means of gearwheel 30. Chain 29 rotates gear wheel 31 which rotates the gear 25thereby imparting motion to the table and drill by the meshing of teeth24 of the table with the gear 25.

The operation of the machine'is' as follows: the bit is lifted a shortdistance from the bottom, the rotary table drive coupling thrown in andthe coupling connecting the sprocket wheel 4 to the drum shaft engaged,

its

the throttle of the'main engine being opened until the table is runningat a suitable speed. The weight 18 having; been suitably chosen, thepiston 15 with its attached belt shifting rod will take up a positiondepending upon the M. E. P. in the main engine, that is, depending uponthe load on the main engine. For example, should the bit meet with anobstruction by taking .too big a cut, the engine will be slowed downslightly, the M. E. P. will automatically rise and the belt that turnsthe reduction gear which operates to work the drum in the liftingdirection will be moved on to the fixed pulley. In this way the bit willbe automatically raised, to be automatically lowered as soon as the loadon the engine ecreases. Should the couple in the drill stem continueto'rise in spite of the bit being lifted up, the piston 15 in itsextreme position to the right can be arranged to throw out the-ta lecoupling or shut off steam to the main engine.

It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to the preciseconstruction hereinbefore-described, for obviously many modificationsmay be made in the exact. details of the mechanical construction withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. For instance, theabove description and drawing refer to the invention as applied toexisting rotary machiner with only slight alterations. Should theraw-works be s ciall designed from the beginning, a [pee anica ly moreplerfect apparatus could be incorporated wit them. For instance, thebelts and ear might be replaced by a car and clutc es mounted directlyon the 'ne or drum shaft. According to another feature of the inventionthefeed could be controlled by an auxiliary steam engine geared to thedrum and supplied with steam at line pressure but With Its retion ofrotation cont'rolle similar to that described above ling the position ofthe belts.

' I claim as my invention 1. Drilling machinery comprising an o ratingengine; a line shaft rotated by sai engine; a drum adapted to beoperated from said line shaft; a belt pulley on said line bfy a deviceor controlshaft; a reduction gear adapted to c'ontrolsaid drum andhaving a plurality of ulleys; adplura 'ty of belts'on said belt pu eyand a apted to operate the plurality of pulleys of said reduction gear;and means responsive to the pressure of the operating medium of saidengine for automatically shifting said belts in order to control thedrum.

2. A controlling device for a drum of a machine comprising a reductionwer and digear having a plurality ,of pulleys thereon and adapted todrive said drum; means associated withsaid pulleys for driving thereduction gear; and means res onsive to the pressure of the o crating meium of the engine of said drilling machine for controlling the lastnamedmeans for varying the speed and direction of rotation of said drum.

3. A controlling device for a drum comprising a line shaft operated byan engine; a reduction gear adaptedr'to control said drum; means foroperating said reduction gear from said line shaft; a piston and cyl' 5.Drilling machinery comprising an en gine; a line shaft driven by saidengine; a drum; a reduction gear driven by means of belts from said lineshaft and adapted to drive said drum; a cylinder; a piston in saidcylinder operatively connected to said belts; and means forcommunicating the pressure of the operatng medium of said engine to thecylinder in or er to shift said belts by means of said piston to therebyva the speed and direction of rotation of said rum. 6. Drillingmachinery comprising an operating engine; a line shaft rotated by saidengine; a drum adapted to be operated from said line shaft; a beltpulley on said line shaft; 9. reduction gear adapted to control saiddrum and having a plurality of pulleys; a plurality of belts on saidbelt pu ley and adapted to operate the plurality of pulleys of saidreduction gear; and a piston and cylinder responsive to the pressure ofthe operating medium of said engine for automatically shifting saidbelts in order to control the drum.

7. Awcontrolling device for a drumeof a drillin machine comprisingdriving mechanism riven by an engine and adapted to drive said drum; anda piston and cylinder responsive to the ressure of the operating mediumof the engine for operating and controlling said drivmg mechanism.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN THOMSON

